By: Issabella Narapal
The Papua New Guinea Kumuls earned praise for a brave and hard fought first half against Toa Samoa in yesterday’s Rugby League World Cup match at Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby, PNG.
Backed by a crowd of passionate supporters with pride, the Kumuls performed exceptionally in the first half, matching Samoa’s intensity before Samoa ran away with the win in the second half of the match.
Commenting on the game, the Head Coach for Toa Samoa, Ben Gardiner, commended PNG Kumuls for their determination, pointing out the team’s passion for the game.
“Papua New Guinea was unbelievable, I thought the first half in particular was an end-to-end game, it was very physical, both forward packs went at it, there was a little bit of push and shove which is always nice in a Test match” Ben Gardiner Said.
“That’s an indication that there’s passion in the game and I really want to congratulate Papua New Guinea on their performance, particularly in the first half.”
He said, Samoa opened the game, believing they brought a strong level of physicality to the game but as it happened the Kumuls matched their physicality as well.
“We just talked about being smart, we felt in the first half we were doing a really good job, we thought that we bought the physicality but we felt Papua New Guinea bought the physicality as well.” Ben Gardiner Said.
Meanwhile, Coach Ben Gardiner acknowledged that every game is different.
He pointed out that this match has its own challenges and adjustments, acknowledging PNG’s ability to match up their performance and gave Samoa something to work on in the second half of the game.
